<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>From Mission to Mission by Yrindor</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29425161">From Mission to Mission</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor'>Yrindor</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Friendships, Female Friendship, Gen, Hot Springs &amp; Onsen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:07:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,706</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29425161</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The life of a shinobi is marked by missions and danger.  In the rare quiet spaces in between, sometimes it's nice to take a moment to relax.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Temari &amp; Tenten (Naruto)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Chocolate Box - Round 6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>From Mission to Mission</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/elegantstupidity/gifts">elegantstupidity</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story plays fast and loose with the Naruto timeline.  It's set in an ambiguous time of peace sometime after the Gaara rescue arc but ignores deaths from later in canon.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tenten laughed as she collapsed on the ground.  The weapons littering the ground disappeared in puffs of smoke as she returned them to her scrolls with a flick of her wrist. "Neji's going to be jealous," she said.</p>
<p>"What do you mean?" Temari asked.  She was marginally less disheveled than her impromptu training partner, but she had dirt streaked across her face too and tears in her clothes that she'd have to convince Kankurou to fix later.</p>
<p>"You blocked every single one of my weapons.  It's been awhile since Neji managed that consistently, and he's supposed to be one of the best in the village."</p>
<p>"Well, I'm not from your village, am I?  And you haven't spent years developing your techniques specifically to counter mine." Temari said as she cleaned her fan. "So where are you off to now?"</p>
<p>"Bath.  Don't know about you, but I definitely need to clean up a bit before whatever dinner they've scheduled for us tonight."</p>
<p>"Academy instructors," Temari replied immediately.   At Tenten's look she added, "Shikamaru takes our role as liaisons for our respective villages seriously.  He's drilled the schedule into my head so many times I'm pretty sure I could recite it in my sleep."</p>
<p>"At least that should be more interesting than last night's fiasco with the elders.  Did anyone enjoy that?"</p>
<p>Temari shrugged. "No one nearly caused a major international incident out of boredom this year, so I'll call it a success.  Anyway, join me for a bath?  I promise I am in fact capable of shutting up about schedules for awhile."</p>
<p>"I have Lee as a teammate and Gai as a sensei.  Trust me, I'm used to people who can't shut up.  Come on, follow me.  It doesn't have to be a race unless you want it to be."</p>
<p>"Aren't the baths in the other direction?" Temari asked as Tenten headed for the back of the clearing.</p>
<p>"At this time of day?  Sure.  If you want to be competing with half the village.  Maybe it's technically big enough, but it's not exactly what I'd call a relaxing experience.  I know somewhere better."</p>
<p>It was a sign of how far the peace between Suna and Konoha had developed that Temari followed Tenten without a second thought.  Even going deep into parts of the village she had never seen before didn't give her more than a second's pause.  Worst case, she'd take to the rooftops if she needed to make a quick escape.</p>
<p>Not that she expected anything to go wrong.  Even with all of the meetings, she was rather enjoying the break from her regular mission schedule.  It wasn't even time to start planning for the next chuunin exams yet; the current trip was solely to discuss standardization of basic curriculum and mission grading.  In the grand scheme of village politics, it carried so little weight that Gaara hadn't even bothered to come along.</p>
<p>Tenten came to an abrupt stop at the end of an alley near the village walls. "This is it," she said.</p>
<p>"This is what?"</p>
<p>"Kazan Hot Springs," and elderly woman said, stepping out from behind the short curtain over the door. "Tenten, you look in need of a good soak today, and who's your friend?"</p>
<p>"Temari, from the Village Hidden in the Sand.  She's here for those Academy meetings I was telling you about."</p>
<p>"Well, I hope she's more excited about them than you are if she came all this way.  My grandson is starting at the Academy soon you know.  I'm against it, of course, but poor old Grandma might be overruled."</p>
<p>"I'm sure he'll be in good hands," Temari said as she followed Tenten inside. "I've met most of the instructors myself, and they're all very good at what they do."</p>
<p>"He'll make his Grandma proud out there, but I'll miss having him around underfoot in the house.  They just grow up too fast.  You turn around and suddenly they've become a different person overnight.  You're probably too young to understand now, but I'm sure you will someday."</p>
<p>Temari smiled despite herself. "You remind me of someone I used to know in Suna.  I feel like she would've liked you."</p>
<p>The old woman smiled. "If you mean who I think, then I believe so too.  I'm sorry I never had the chance to meet her properly."</p>
<p>"You say that about a lot of people, Granny Nari," Tenten said before Temari could cut in. "Hard to believe from someone who keeps such a quiet bathhouse."</p>
<p>"Excitement makes one appreciate the silence, and silence makes one appreciate excitement.  Speaking of which, I'm sure the hustle and bustle will be expecting you back soon enough.  Run along and enjoy your bath now before an old lady keeps you here too long with her reminiscing.  If you have time to soak for a few minutes, then I can have your clothes cleaned for you by the time you're done."</p>
<p>"You spoil us," Tenten said.  She led Temari around another curtain into a small alcove lined with wooden baskets.</p>
<p>"Is it safe to tell her so much about your missions?" Temari whispered as she stripped out of her dusty clothes.  She might not know all of the intricacies of politics in Konoha, but she'd sat in on enough Joint Security Council meetings to know that mission details were closely guarded secrets across the board, especially a mission as sensitive and heavily classified as Gaara's kidnapping and subsequent rescue from the Akatsuki had been.</p>
<p>Tenten laughed. "Did I mention she's retired ANBU?  She probably knows more about that mission than I do."</p>
<p>"After my time," Nari called from the front. "Go back another few decades and then maybe we can talk.  Back when Chiyo of Sunagakure was as young as our Fifth Hokage looks and the battles between them were things of legend."</p>
<p>"You know of her?" Temari asked despite herself.</p>
<p>"Of course I do.  Any poison master worth their salt does.  Oh, speaking of which, Tenten, I tried new salts in the bath today, courtesy of the Nara and their books.  They say they should help with fatigue.  Report back on it after?  And you too, dear."</p>
<p>"Of course, Granny," Tenten said. "Come on, Temari.  Hurry up or we're going to be short on time."</p>
<p>Temari hesitated.  No matter what Tenten said, the thought of serving as test subjects for a known poison master and former black ops specialist had the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.  Not that she had much choice when Tenten grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her through another sliding door.</p>
<p>The steam hit her like a solid wall.  Suna was hot, but they didn't have humidity like this, and they didn't have the water to spare for baths like these either.  No matter how many times she visited Konoha, the baths were always a treat, even the most popular one that Tenten seemed to think so little of.</p>
<p>She rinsed off and washed the dirt out of her hair at the taps along the wall.  She didn't say no when Tenten offered to scrub her back for her, and then she did the same for the other kunoichi.</p>
<p>By the time she slipped into the heated pool, her earlier reservations had melted away.  All things considered, death by poisoned bathwater wouldn't be the worst way to go. "God, that feels good," she mumbled as the heat seeped through her skin and soaked away tension she hadn't know she had.</p>
<p>"Nari is good at what she does," Tenten said. "If you're looking to relax, there isn't a better bathhouse in Konoha.  The only risk is that you'll fall asleep and miss whatever meeting or formal dinner you were supposed to attend."</p>
<p>Temari swam to the edge of the pool and leaned against the flat stones lining it.  At least if she fell asleep here she'd be less likely to drown. "So how did you discover this gem?  It doesn't exactly seem well known."</p>
<p>"Would you believe me if I said it was a mission?" Tenten asked. "One of my very first D-rank missions as a genin.  We were tasked with fixing a hole in the fence over there.  As you can imagine given our sensei, it turned into a lot more of a production than it really needed to be."</p>
<p>Temari laughed.  She could imagine it perfectly; it didn't exactly have the same relaxed feeling as the current atmosphere. "And how did that go over with the owner?"</p>
<p>"She was happy to finally have the hole in her fence repaired so she could stop fishing so many soggy tanuki out of the pools, but she also turned it into an impromptu lesson on situational awareness and poison detection.  Neji was the only one who noticed her trap.  Oh, and Gai Sensei and Lee tried to come back a couple of times, but she kicked them out for repeatedly trying to turn relaxation into a competitive training experience."</p>
<p>"I really don't know how you kept up with them for that long," Temari admitted. "It makes me tired just thinking about it."</p>
<p>"After awhile you get used to them.  Plus,  you don't have any room to talk.  You had Gaara as a teammate before he learned what chill meant."</p>
<p>"Okay, fair, point taken.  At least my teammate is less full of murderous intent now.  Lee and Gai seem just as energetic as ever."</p>
<p>"If anything, I think they've gotten worse," Tenten conceded, "or I'm just getting old and tired.  I wouldn't give them up for the world, but I'm glad I have missions with other teams sometimes now.  Being around them 24/7 gets exhausting."</p>
<p>"I can only imagine," Temari said.  She let that thought go before her imagination could run away with it and make her tense all over again.</p>
<p>Tenten seemed content to let the silence that followed stand.  There was something to be said for a companion who could do both, and the ability to provide a worthy opponent on the training field was an added bonus.</p>
<p>"Remind me to make you bring me here again next time I'm in Konoha," Temari said. "I could get used to this."</p>
<p>"Anytime.  It's my secret guilty pleasure."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy Chocolate Box, elegantstupidity!  I always love an excuse to write more about Konoha's kickass kunoichi.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>